European Stocks Climb as BP, Deutsche Bank Top Estimates

Water rushes into the Carey Tunnel (previously the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel), caused by Hurricane Sandy, in the Financial District of New York on October 29, 2012. Photographer: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose the most in two
weeks as companies from BP Plc to Deutsche Bank AG reported
earnings that topped estimates and U.S. house prices climbed.
Hurricane Sandy closed New York markets for a second day.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.9 percent to 271.76
at the close of trading, extending this month’s gain to 1.2
percent. The gauge has rallied 16 percent from this year’s low
on June 4 as European Central Bank policy makers agreed on an
unlimited asset-purchase program and the Federal Reserve
announced a third round of quantitative easing.

“Once again, we’re seeing good resilience of European
companies,” said Jacques Porta, who helps manage $627 million
at Ofi Patrimoine in Paris. “Expectations were so negative that
there haven’t been many bad surprises.”

Per-share profit has topped analysts’ forecasts at 53
percent of the Stoxx 600 companies that have reported results
since Oct. 9, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 U.S.
cities rose 2 percent in August from a year earlier, the biggest
gain since July 2010, after rising 1.2 percent in July. The
median forecast of 25 economists in a Bloomberg survey projected
a 1.9 percent gain.

Sandy Shutdown

Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures gained 0.2 percent from
the Oct. 26 close to 1,411.1, having earlier fallen as much as 1
percent. Trading in the securities ended at 9:15 a.m. New York
time again today as weather stopped U.S. equity trading for two
straight days for the first time since 1888.

Sandy came ashore near Atlantic City, New Jersey, at about
8 p.m. New York time yesterday. The system is no longer a
hurricane, because it’s drawing energy from temperature
differences and not the ocean, making the transition to a
superstorm that may push a wall of water ashore in the Northeast
and lash the East with wind, rain and snow.

Volume Decline

The number of shares changing hands in Stoxx 600 companies
was 44 percent lower than the 30-day average, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. Volume on the Euro Stoxx 50 was 57
percent lower, the data showed.

Economic confidence in the euro area fell to the lowest in
more than three years in October. An index of executive and
consumer sentiment dropped to 84.5 from 85.2 in September, the
European Commission said. Economists had forecast a decrease to
84.4, the median of 27 estimates in a Bloomberg survey showed.

A measure of oil and gas companies in the Stoxx 600 gained
1.8 percent for the biggest contribution to the equity
benchmark’s advance today.

BP jumped 4.2 percent to 442.85 pence, the largest jump in
11 months. The company said third-quarter net income rose to
$5.4 billion from $5 billion in the same period of 2011 and
raised its dividend by 12.5 percent to 9 cents a share. Profit
adjusted for one-time items and changes in inventory was $5.2
billion, compared with the average estimate of 11 analysts
surveyed by Bloomberg of $4 billion.

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank increased 4.5 percent to 34.80 euros. The
lender said third-quarter profit rose 3 percent after
investment-banking revenue exceeded targets. Net income climbed
to 747 million euros in the three months through September from
725 million euros a year earlier, the company said. That beat
the 563.9 million-euro average estimate of seven analysts
surveyed by Bloomberg.

UBS climbed 5.9 percent to 13.89 Swiss francs, its highest
price since July 25, 2011. The bank said it plans to save about
3.4 billion francs ($3.7 billion) in additional annual costs by
the end of 2015 as it reduces headcount by 10,000 to about
54,000. The company will target a return on equity of at least
15 percent starting in 2015, compared with a previous goal of 12
percent to 17 percent.

Erste Group Bank AG advanced 6.3 percent to 19.07 euros in
Vienna. Europe’s third-biggest lender said net income rose to
143.7 million euros in the three months through September, after
a 1.5 billion-euro loss a year earlier. That matched the average
estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Biggest IPO

Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG gained 3.6 percent to
5.80 euros. The German unit of Spain’s largest phone company
climbed in its Frankfurt trading debut after completing Europe’s
biggest initial public offering this year. The German unit
priced 258.8 million shares at 5.60 euros each, at the top of a
range that was narrowed from 5.25 euros to 6.50 euros.

Nokian Renkaat Oyj jumped 8.3 percent to 31.76 euros, its
biggest increase in more than a year, as the Nordic region’s
largest tiremaker said Russian demand remains healthy.

Danske Bank slumped 9.4 percent to 94 kroner, its biggest
drop since February 2011. Denmark’s largest lender said it plans
to sell 7 billion kroner ($1.2 billion) in new shares as part of
an effort to achieve a core Tier 1 capital ratio in excess of 13
percent by the end of next year.

Danske Bank

Third-quarter net income reached 1.31 billion kroner,
compared with a loss of 384 million kroner a year earlier, the
bank said. That was in line with the average 1.34 billion-krone
estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Swedish Match AB, a maker of snuff, sank 9.6 percent to 234
kronor, its largest decline since at least 1996. The company
reported third-quarter net income of 693 million kronor ($105
million), falling short of analyst estimates.

Geberit AG lost 5.6 percent to 192 francs. The Swiss maker
of toilets and bathroom piping systems cut its revenue forecast
and said it expects “cloudy conditions” for the rest of the
year as sales dropped in Italy and at home.

Fiat SpA, the Italian carmaker that controls Chrysler Group
LLC, slid 4.7 percent to 3.93 euros as the company cut its 2014
trading-profit goal to as much as 5.2 billion euros from 7.5
billion euros.

Greek banks fell as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said
talks on the 2013 budget have been completed. Democratic Left,
one of the parties supporting Samaras’s coalition, said it
disagrees with some labor measures.